Week 17 Playoff Scenarios

AFC

The Ravens have clinched the #1 seed. 

The AFC East winner is the #2 seed. Bills at Dolphins next week for the division.

The Chiefs are locked into the #3 spot and can rest guys next week if they want to. 

The AFC South winner is the #4 seed. Jaguars are 3.5 point favorites at Titans. 

Browns are locked in as the #5 seed. 

The Bills can miss the playoffs if they lose and Jaguars and Steelers win. Steelers are playing Ravens, but they've already locked everything up. So Ravens should rest Lamar. They could win if they want to hurt the Steelers, but it's entirely possible that Jags and Steelers win. That scenario sets up Bills win and they get the #2 seed. Lose and they miss the playoffs. 

Dolphins have clinched a playoff spot, so even if they lose the division, they're still in the field. But #6 seed means going to Arrowhead. #2 seed gets a home game vs....likely the winner of Colts/Texans. 

Chiefs ended the 2022 Bengals season in Burrowhead Arrowhead in the AFC Championship. 

Chiefs ended the 2023 Bengals season in Arrowhead in week 17. 

Chiefs also ended the 2023 Broncos season today. 

So yeah, that was a big win. 

Eliminated: Raiders, Broncos, Chargers, Patriots, Jets, Bengals, Titans

In: Ravens, Dolphins, Browns, Chiefs. 

Winner of Colts/Texans is in. 

That leaves 2 spots for Jaguars, Bills, Steelers. 

Jags and Bills control their destiny: win and in. Steelers will need help. 

NFC

49ers secured the #1 seed and the bye.

Thanks to some rigged bullshit calls, the Cowboys just need to scoot past Commanders to claim the #2 spot.

Which would mean Chiefs and Lions are both #3 seeds, what a world. 

Tampa is going to beat the Panthers and get the #4 spot. 

Eagles will get #5. 

The Rams have clinched. 

So the final spot can be drama-free if the Packers can beat the Bears in Lambeau. Of course, the Bears have been playing well, so if they pull the upset, then it opens the doors to Seahawks. 

Here's the playoff picture, if all the Vegas favorites win their games:

Just for fun...let's say this is the playoff field and KC beats Miami. Bills would get by Colts, and Chiefs would go to Buffalo in round 2, then Baltimore in round 3. (Of course, the Chiefs of the last month do not get by the Bills of the last month.) 

But if the Bills happen to stumble, then Colts would go to Baltimore and Jags/Browns would come to Arrowhead. 

The path to a 6th straight AFC Championship in Arrowhead is very slim. It requires Ravens to lose their first game in round 2, plus the 2 seed has to lose in one of the first two rounds, plus the Chiefs have to win two games. 

Also, this is way premature as the playoff field isn't even set. Sorry for wasting your time!